Job Description

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking Postdoctoral Appointee candidates with demonstrated publication record or relevant experience to join Sandia’s Quantum Performance Laboratory to pursue world-leading research in the characterization, calibration, benchmarking, and simulation of quantum computers. You will be part of Sandia’s much broader quantum information science (QIS) program and will have an opportunity to engage with researchers and teams across the industry. Postdocs in our group work at the frontier of practical and theoretical quantum computing research, publish widely, and have broad latitude to identify compelling research problems, take leadership, and solve them.

Particular research areas that we anticipate a Postdoctoral Appointee could work on include the development of foundational science and practical methods for:

• Scalable emulation of noisy quantum computers, including the development of methods based on novel, physics-aware neural network architectures
• Holistic benchmarking of large-scale quantum computers, and assessing progress towards quantum utility
• Efficient calibration and tune-up of quantum computers, including the development of methods based on deep reinforcement learning
• Scalable characterization of the errors and noise in quantum computers

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Work with a team developing new methods to assess and improve the performance of quantum computers
• Interact and collaborate with a diverse set of experimentalists and other theorists at Sandia, academic institutions, other national labs, and private companies
• Take ownership of technical projects, publish outstanding new developments in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and present your work at conferences

This job is based in Livermore, CA, or Albuquerque, NM, however virtual workers located in any U.S. State or District of Columbia may be considered. Regular or periodic travel to your assigned work location and other sites may be required. Candidates may be interviewed for this position by multiple departments.

Qualifications We Require:

• PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, or a related science or engineering field, conferred within five years prior to start of employment
• Record of research as demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, competitive conference proceedings, or high-impact program deliverables

Qualifications We Desire:

• Demonstrated research experience in quantum computation and information science
• Demonstrated experience applying machine learning to scientific research problems
• Experience with mathematical techniques for modelling or characterization noisy quantum computers
• Proficiency in Python software development, code verification, and modern software quality practices
• Experience turning math into code

About Our Team:

The Quantum Performance Laboratory is a multidisciplinary research and development group within Sandia National Laboratories. We develop and deploy cutting-edge techniques for assessing and improving the performance of quantum computing hardware, serving the needs of the U.S. government, industry, and academia. Our team is geographically dispersed, but highly collaborative. We work closely with a wide range of partners in industry and academia to develop new performance assessment tools and apply them to newly developed quantum computing platforms. We publish our research results in scientific journals including Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, Physical Review X, PRX Quantum, and Physical Review Letters.

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

This position does not currently require a Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance.

Sandia will conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Furthermore, employees in New Mexico need to pass a U.S. Air Force background screen for access to Kirtland Air Force Base. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause access to be denied or terminated, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

If hired without a clearance and it subsequently becomes necessary to obtain and maintain one for the position, or you bid on positions that require a clearance, a pre-processing background review may be conducted prior to a required federal background investigation. Applicants for a DOE security clearance need to be U.S. citizens. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Members of the workforce (MOWs) hired at Sandia who require uncleared access for greater than 179 days during their employment, are required to go through the Uncleared Personal Identity Verification (UPIV) process. Access includes physical and/or cyber (logical) access, as well as remote access to any NNSA information technology (IT) systems. UPIV requirements are not applicable to individuals who require a DOE personnel security clearance for the performance of their SNL employment or to foreign nationals. The UPIV process will include the completion of a USAccess Enrollment, SF-85 (Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) and OF-306 (Declaration of for Federal Employment). An unfavorable UPIV determination will result in immediate retrieval of the SNL issued badge, removal of cyber (logical) access and/or removal from SNL subcontract. All MOWs may appeal the unfavorable UPIV determination to DOE/NNSA immediately. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the MOW may try to go through the UPIV process one year after the decision date.

EEO:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs:

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Position Information:

This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment.

Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.

Job ID: 694166

Job Family: 92

Regular/Temporary Position: T

Full/Part-Time Status: F

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.